Welding process and product for inflatable product

ABSTRACT

A welding process of an inflatable product is provided that includes using isolating members between first and second portions of weldable tensioning members to resist the first and second portions of the weldable tensioning structures being welded together during welding of the first portions to a first sheet of weldable material and welding of the second portions to a second sheet of weldable material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/553,705, filed Nov. 25, 2014, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Chinese Patent Application No. 201310598878.5, filed Nov. 25,2013 and entitled “WELDING PROCESS AND PRODUCT FOR INFLATABLE PRODUCT”,the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an inflatable product and, inparticular, to a method for attaching tensioning structures to walls ofthe inflatable product.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, an inflatable product is providedthat includes a first sheet made of weldable plastic and a second sheetmade of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperates todefine an inflatable chamber. The inflatable product further includes aplurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioning structure includes aweldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioning structures is weldedto the first sheet and a second portion of the tensioning structures iswelded to the second sheet. The inflatable product further includes aplurality of isolating members positioned in the inflatable chamber. Theisolating members are positionable to isolate the first portions of thetensioning structures from the second portions of the tensioningstructures to block weldable contact between the first and secondportions.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an inflatableproduct is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plasticand a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheetscooperate to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable productfurther includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioningstructure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioningstructures are welded to the first sheet and a second portion of thetensioning structures are welded to the second sheet. The inflatableproduct further includes a portion of a non-metallic isolating memberpositioned in the inflatable chamber and coupled to at least one of thefirst and second portions of a tensioning structure of the plurality oftensioning structures.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an inflatableproduct is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plasticand a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheetscooperate to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable productfurther includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioningstructure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioningstructures is welded to the first sheet and a second portion of thetensioning structures is welded to the second sheet. The first portionshave structures and the second portions have contours matching at leasta portion of the structures of the first portions.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an inflatableproduct is provided that includes a first sheet made of weldable plasticand a second sheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheetscooperate to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable productfurther includes a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioningstructure includes a weldable plastic. A first portion of the tensioningstructures is welded to the first sheet and a second portion of thetensioning structures is welded to the second sheet. The first portionshave a seam formed by a clamp. The second portions have a seam formed bythe clamp. The perimeters of the seams of the second portions aresubstantially mirror images of perimeters of the seams of the firstportions.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forproducing an inflatable product is provided including the steps ofproviding a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a secondsheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperate todefine an inflatable chamber. The method further includes the step ofproviding a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioningstructure includes a weldable plastic. The plurality of tensioningstructures include a first portion and a second portion. The methodfurther includes the step of simultaneously welding the first and secondportions of the plurality of tensioning structures to the first andsecond sheets.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forproducing an inflatable product is provided including the steps ofproviding a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a secondsheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperate todefine an inflatable chamber. The method further includes the step ofproviding a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioningstructure includes a weldable plastic. The plurality of tensioningstructures includes a first portion and a second portion. The methodfurther includes the step of providing an isolating member on a roll.The isolating material is configured to isolate the first portions ofthe tensioning structures from the second portions of the tensioningstructures. The method further includes the step of unwrapping theisolating member from the roll, positioning the isolating member betweenthe first and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures,welding the first portion of the plurality of tensioning structures tothe first sheet while the isolating member is positioned between thefirst and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures, andwelding the second portion of the plurality of tensioning structures tothe second sheet while the isolating member is positioned between thefirst and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forproducing an inflatable product is provided including the steps ofproviding a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a secondsheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperate todefine an inflatable chamber. The method also includes the step ofproviding a plurality of tensioning structures, each tensioningstructure including a weldable plastic. The plurality of tensioningstructures includes a first portion and a second portion. The methodfurther includes the step of folding the plurality of tensioningstructures and welding the first portion of the plurality of tensioningstructures to the first sheet and the second portion of the plurality oftensioning structures to the second sheet while the plurality oftensioning structures are folded.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forproducing an inflatable product is provided that includes the steps ofproviding a first sheet made of weldable plastic and providing a secondsheet made of weldable plastic. The first and second sheets cooperate todefine an inflatable chamber. The method further includes the step ofproviding a plurality of tensioning structures. Each tensioningstructure includes a weldable plastic. The plurality of tensioningstructures includes a first portion and a second portion. The methodfurther includes the step of clamping the first portions and secondportions of the plurality of tensioning structures together, and weldingthe first portion of the plurality of tensioning structures to the firstsheet and the second portion of the plurality of tensioning structuresto the second sheet while the first and second portions of the pluralityof tensioning structures are clamped together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features of this disclosure, and themanner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the disclosureitself will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a welder of the present disclosureincluding an upper die and a lower die;

FIG. 2 is an exploded diagram showing a components of an inflatableproduct aligned for welding;

FIG. 3 is an exploded diagram showing a components of another embodimentinflatable product aligned for welding;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the welder of FIG. 1 alignedrelative to the inflatable product components of FIG. 3 for welding;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view showing the inflatable productcomponents of FIG. 3 and the welder of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment inflatable productincluding alignment threads; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a showing a portion ofthe inflatable product of FIG. 3 clamped between first and second barsof upper and lower dies of welder 12 showing strands creating recessesin the layers of material of the inflatable product.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplification set out hereinillustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and suchexemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of theinvention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, a welding process for an inflatableproduct is provided. The welding process attaches tensioning structures4 of an inflatable product 10 to inflatable sheets 5, 7 of inflatableproduct 10. A high-power, high-frequency welder 12 is used to attachtensioning structures 4 to inflatable sheets 5, 7.

Welder 12 includes an upper welding die 1, a lower welding die 2, upperbars 11, and lower bars 21 arranged opposite upper bars 11. According tothe preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, upper and lower bars11, 21 are high frequency electrodes that heat materials positionedadjacent thereto using high frequencies. According to alternativeembodiments, other methods, such as heat, can be applied to melt thematerials. Upper and lower bars 11, 21 are laterally spaced apart by thedesired spacing of tensioning structures 4 in finished inflatableproduct 10. In the illustrated embodiment, bars 11, 21 are straight tomatch straight tensioning structures 4. According to alternativeembodiments, bars 11, 21 may have other shapes, such as circles, tomatch tensioning structures 4 having other shapes, such as circularcolumns. The number of bars 11, 21 depends on the number of tensioningstructures 4 in inflatable product 10.

According to one embodiment, a staging box 3 is provided that includes aplurality of slots 32 in bottom plate 31 that correspond to spacing oflower bars 21. As will be discussed in greater detail below, thecomponents of inflatable product 10 are positioned in staging box 3 andthen staging box 3 is positioned between upper and lower welding dies 1,2 so that lower bars 21 align with slots 32 to facilitate welding oftensioning structures 4 to inflatable sheets 5, 7. Each bar 21 of lowerdie 2 penetrates through slots 32, thereby contacting tensioningstructures 4 staging box 3. Upper and lower dies 1, 2 are drawn togetherso that lower bars 21 abut bars 11 of upper die 1 with the respectivecomponents of inflatable product 10 sandwiched therebetween. Accordingto alternative embodiments, staging box 3 is not used to place thecomponents in welder 12.

As shown in FIG. 2 and in combination with the first embodiment of thedisclosure shown in FIG. 1, tensioning structures 4 are plastic strips,preferably made of a weldable plastic, such as PVC. According to thisembodiment, tensioning structures 4 form an integral strip of material.According to the present method of manufacturing inflatable product 10,tensioning structures 4 are cut into strips from a sheet of bulkmaterial. Next, a lower sheet 7 of material, such as PVC, is placed instaging box 3. Tensioning structures 4 are folded so that thelongitudinal edges of tensioning structures 4 are aligned.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, anisolating member 6 is positioned between the tips of each foldedtensioning structure 4. Folded tensioning structures 4 with isolatingmembers 6 positioned therein are positioned on lower sheet 7 that waspreviously positioned on staging box 3. According to one embodiments,alignment marks are provided on staging box 3 (or elsewhere) tofacilitate alignment of the tips (also referred to as first and secondportions) of folded tensioning structures 4 over slots 32 of staging box3. Upper sheet 5 of inflatable product 10 is then positioned over foldedtensioning structures 4 in staging box 3. Staging box 3 is positioned inthe high-power high frequency welding machine so that slots 32 ofstaging box 3 are aligned and positioned over lower bars 21 of lower die2. Upper and lower dies 1, 2 are moved toward each other so that lowersheet 7, tips/portions of folded tensioning structures 4, and isolatingmembers 6 are positioned and clamped between respective upper and lowerbars 11, 21. Next, the high-frequency welder is energized to weld uppersheet 5 to the upper tip/first portion of each tensioning structure 4and lower sheet 7 to the lower tip/second portion of each tensioningstructure 4 at the same time. Thus, an upper tip of one tensioningstructure 4 is welded to upper sheet 5 at the same time that the lowertip of the same tensioning structure 4 is welded to lower sheet 7. Bypositioning isolating member 6 between the upper and lower tips/portionsof the respective tensioning structures 4, the upper and lower tips ofthe respective tensioning structures 4 are not welded together. Thus,upper and lower sheets 5, 7 can be welded to tensioning structures 4 atthe same time rather than at separate times. After welding is complete,dies 1, 2 are separated and staging box 3 can be removed from welder 12along with the partially formed inflatable product 10. Isolating members6 may be removed or not removed from inflatable product 10.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure,isolating member 6 can be insulating paper, release paper or theinsulating paper made of other materials, and can also adopt a sheetwith a low cost and a small thickness, such as non-woven fabric,laminated fabric or oxford fabric and the like, as long as the sheet canblock the welding of the adjacent tips of tensioning structures 4.According to one embodiment, isolating member 6 is a non-metallic,flexible film. Such a film (or other isolating material) may come willcome loose from one or both of weld strips 81 between which it issandwiched.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure,isolating material 6 is a plastic film having a width about three timesthe width of the contact portion of bars 11, 12 and a thicknesssubstantially less than the thickness of tensioning structure 4 andupper and lower sheets 5, 7. Preferably, isolating material 6 isprovided on rolls 22 (only one roll 22 is shown). During positioning ofisolating material 6, each respective isolating material is unrolledfrom roll 22 of isolating material 6 and positioned between respectivetips of each tensioning structure 4. Before or after positioning iscomplete, each respective piece of isolating material 6 is cut orotherwise detached from roll 22 of isolating material 6. As mentionedabove, after welding is complete, isolating material 6 may be removed ornot removed from inflatable product 10. When isolating material 6 is notremoved, it remains inside inflatable product 10. As such, wheninflatable product 10 is inflated, isolating material 6 remains insidethe inflatable product.

According to the present disclosure, inflatable product 10 is an airmattress. To complete the manufacturing process, a side wall/panel 36may be welded to upper and lower sheets 5, 7 to cooperate with upper andlower sheets 5,7 to define an inflatable interior/chamber. Additionally,side wall 36 (or other exterior layer) may be provided with an air valve(not shown) to facilitate inflating and deflating inflatable product 10.Additional details of a suitable air mattress are provided in PCT PatentPublication No. WO2013/130117 A1, titled “INTERNAL TENSIONING STRUCTURESUSABLE WITH INFLATABLE DEVICES”, to Lin et al., filed Jun. 12, 2012, theentire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by referenceherein. According to alternative embodiments of the present disclosure,inflatable product 10 may be other devices, such as inflatable couches,chairs, pools, spas, swim floats, slides, or other inflatable devices.

An alternative embodiment tensioning structures 4′ are shown in FIGS. 3,4 and 5. Tensioning structures 4 include a plurality of strands 82 andtwo pair of plastic weld strips 81, preferably PVC that capture strands82 at both ends. Weld strips 81 are welded to upper sheet 5 and lowersheet 7 of inflatable product 10. In an exemplary embodiment, weldstrips 81 and upper and lower sheets 5, 7 are made of PVC. Upper andlower sheets 5, 7 and weld strips 81 have thicknesses ranging from 0.15to 1.0 millimeters with 0.34 millimeters being preferred for upper andlower sheets 1, 2 and 0.18 millimeters being preferred for weld strips81. Additional details of suitable tensioning structures 4′ are providedin PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013/130117 A1, which was previouslyincorporated by reference herein.

Tensioning structures 4′ are welded to upper and lower sheets 5, 7 in amanner similar to that described above for tensioning structures 4.Lower sheet 5 is positioned in staging box 3, tensioning structures 4′are folded so that respective pairs of weld strips 81 are positionedadjacent each other, isolating material 6 is positioned betweenrespective weld strips/tips/portions 81 of folded tensioning structures4′, upper sheet 7 is positioned in staging box 3, staging box 3 ispositioned in welder 12, upper and lower dies 1, 2 are drawn together,welder is energized to simultaneously weld upper weld strips 81 to uppersheet 5 and lower weld strips 81 to lower sheet 7, and staging box 3 isremoved from welder 12. As discussed above, isolating material 6prevents the respective upper and lower weld strips 81 from weldingtogether and isolating materials 6 may or may not be removed frominflatable product 10. According to alternative embodiments of thepresent disclosure other forms of weld strips 81 may be provided, forexample, a single weld strip 81 may be provided at each tip/portion oftensioning structure rather than a pair of weld strips 81 as disclosedin PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013/130117 A1, which was previouslyincorporated by reference herein. Additionally, a plastic adhesive sheet(not shown) may be provided on strands 82 as disclosed in PCT PatentPublication No. WO2013/130117 A1, which was previously incorporated byreference herein. A laminate sheet with a grid of strands 82 and one ortwo adhesive sheets may also be provided as disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/444,474, titled “INFLATABLE SPA,” filed Jul. 28,2014, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated byreference herein.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the only material positioned between upperand lower bars 11, 12 are upper and lower sheets 5, 7, weld strips 81,portions of strands 82, and isolating material 6. Thus, during weldingwhen upper and lower bars 11, 21 are drawn together, upper and lowerbars 11, 21 are only separated by the thickness of upper and lowersheets 5, 7, weld strips 81, strands 82, and isolating material 6. Upperand lower sheets 5, 7 are separated by the thickness of weld strips 81,portions of strands 82, and isolating material 6. Similarly, weld strips81 are separated by the thickness of isolating material 6. According tothe preferred embodiment, the thickness of isolating material 6 is lessthan the thickness of a single weld strip 81 (or the thickness oftensioning structure 4 discussed above). Thus, during welding upper andlower pairs of weld strips 81 are separated by a thickness less than thethickness of a single weld strip 81 (or less than the thickness oftensioning structure 4 discussed above). Upper and lower bars 11, 21have a width 30 at their point of contact with respective upper andlower sheets 5, 7. During welding, seams 32 having a width 34 are formedin between upper sheet 5 and upper pair of weld strips 81 and lowersheet 7 and lower pair of weld strips 81. During welding, upper andlower bars 11, 21 are separated by a distance less than widths 30, 34.Isolating material 6 has a thickness less than widths 30, 34. Accordingto the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the thickness ofisolation material 6 is less than one tenth of widths 30, 34. Accordingto other embodiments, the ratio of the thickness of isolation material 6to widths 30, 34 is 1.0, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25, 0.15, 0.05, 0.025 or less.

As shown in FIG. 6, alignment strands 9 may be provided for tensioningstructure 4′ that keep adjacent tensioning structures 4′ at a desiredspacing for welding. To assembly inflatable product 10, each tensioningstructure 4′ is folding so that isolating member 6 is sandwiched betweenrespective pairs of weld strips 81. Next, adjacent tensioning structures4′ are connected together with alignment strands 9 at the desiredspacing by adhering alignment strand 9 to welds strips 81. According toone embodiment, one alignment strand 9 is positioned below tensioningstructures 4′ and adhered to the underside of the lower-most weld strip81. Another alignment strand 9 is positioned above tensioning structures4′ directly above the other alignment strand 9 and adhered to thetopside of the upper-most weld strip 81. To further assist with keepingtensioning structures 4′ aligned, the upper and lower alignment strands9 may be adhered to each other near each weld strip 81. Because eachpair of weld strips 81 is adhered to either the top or bottom alignmentstrand 9 and the top and bottom alignment strands 9 are adhered to eachother, the top and bottom pairs of weld strips 81 are coupled to eachother through the top and bottom alignment strands 9. As shown in FIG.6, multiple alignment stands 9 (or pairs of alignment strands 9) areadhered across the length of the tensioning structures 4′.

As discussed above, upper sheet 5 of inflatable product 10 is placed instaging box 3. Next, the left-most tensioning structure 4′ (or thealignment strands 9) is pulled over lower sheet 7 and staging box 3until it is positioned over the left-most slot 32 of staging box 3. Asthe left-most tensioning structure is pulled, the other tensioningstructures 4′ are also pulled by alignment strands 9 and positioned overtheir respective slots 32 in staging box 3. Upper sheet 5 of inflatableproduct 10 is then positioned over tensioning structures 4′. Staging box3 is then pushed into the high-power high frequency machine, upper andlower dies 1, 2 are drawn together and upper and lower pairs of weldstrips 81 are simultaneously butt welded to respective upper and lowersheets 5, 7. After this welding step, staging box 3 is removed fromwelder 12 and isolating member 6 may be removed or not removed fromwithin inflatable product 10. Later, a side panel 36 may be welded tothe perimeter edges of upper and lower sheets 5, 7 to define aninflatable chamber as discussed above. According to other embodiments,upper and lower sheets 5, 7 may be welded together along theirperimeters to define an inflatable chamber.

Alignment strands 9 may be made of a weaker strength strand sufficientfor maintaining the alignment of tensioning structures 4′. For example,when inflatable product 10 is inflated, alignment strands 9 can bepulled apart without impacting the shaping function of tensioningstructures 4′. Similarly, the adhesion of alignment strands 9 to weldstrips 81 and/or each other can be weak, but sufficient to maintain thealignment of tensioning structures 4′. For example, when inflatableproduct 10 is inflated, alignment strands 9 can become detached fromweld strips 81 of tensioning structures 4′ so tensioning structures 4′can perform their shaping function. Similarly, the adhesion of the upperand lower alignment strands 9 discussed above can be weak so that upperand lower pairs of weld strips 81 can separate when the inflatableproduct 10 is inflated. Alignment strands 9 may also be provided withPVC sheet tensioning structures 4 of FIG. 2.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure,isolating member 6 is an insulating ink, such as water-based ink, orother liquid that is printed or otherwise applied to one side of a pairof weld strips 81 to isolate weld strips 81 from each other duringwelding. The process of welding tensioning structures 4′ to upper andlower sheets 5, 7 may follow the same steps as described above. Becauseisolating member 6 is applied to weld strips 81 it is preferably to notremove the isolating material from weld strips 81. These types ofisolating members 6 may also be applied to all or portions of PVC sheettensioning structures 4 of FIG. 2. For example, insulating ink may beapplied to one side of tensioning structures 4 or only the portionsnecessary to avoid welding respective inner tips/portions of foldedtensioning structures 4 together.

The isolating materials described herein may be applied to weld strips81 before or after tensioning structures 4′ are formed. For example,weld strips 81 are preferably formed from a roll of PVC material asdescribed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2013/130117 A1, which waspreviously incorporated by reference herein. This roll of material mayinclude PVC weld strip material and the isolating material 6 applied tothe PVC weld strip material. Thus, the isolating material 6 may beapplied to weld strips 81 before individual weld strips 81 are cut tolength and/or before strands 82 are adhered to weld strips 81.

During welding of weld strips 81 to upper and lower sheets 5, 7, upperand lower sheets 5, 7, weld strips 81, strands 82, and isolatingmaterial 6 are clamped by upper and lower bars 11, 21. During thisclamping and welding, certain characteristics of structures on one sideof isolating member 6 may be transferred to structures on the other sideof isolating member 6. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, strands 82positioned between one pair of weld strips 81 a are offset from strandsfrom the opposite pair of weld strips 81 b. The protrusions created byupper strands 82 a create depressions 84 b in lower weld strips 81 b.Similarly, the protrusions created by lower strands 82 b createdepressions 84 a in upper weld strips 81 a. After welding and unclampingof bars 11, 12, these depressions 84 a, 84 b remain in weld strips 81 a,81 b. In addition to leaving a characteristic on the opposite sides ofisolating member 6, the protrusion may leave characteristics inisolating members 6. For example, after clamping and welding, holes maybe created in isolating members 6 where strands 82 make impressions inisolating members 6.

During welding and clamping, bars 11, 21 create seams 33 between upperand lower sheets 5, 7 and weld strips 81. The outer perimeter profile ofseams 33 is generally defined by the area of clamping overlap betweenbars 11, 21. As such, the perimeter of seam 33 of upper sheet 5 isgenerally the mirror image of the perimeter of seam 33 of lower sheet 7.

Additionally, after clamping and welding, portions of isolating material6 may remain on weld strips 81. Some of these portions may remain eventhough the rest of the respective isolating member 6 is removed frominflatable product 10. These remaining portions may be visible ormicroscopic.

While this disclosure has been described as having exemplary designs,the present disclosure can be further modified within the spirit andscope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended tocover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using itsgeneral principles. Further, this application is intended to cover suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fallwithin the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for producing an inflatable productincluding the steps of providing a first sheet made of weldable plastic,providing a second sheet made of weldable plastic, the first and secondsheets cooperating to define an inflatable chamber, providing a sidepanel; providing a plurality of tensioning structures, each tensioningstructure including a weldable plastic, the plurality of tensioningstructures including a first portion and a second portion, providing anisolating member material on a roll, the isolating member material beingconfigured to isolate the first portions of the tensioning structuresfrom the second portions of the tensioning structures, and unwrapping aplurality of isolating members from the roll, positioning at least oneof the plurality of isolating members between the first and secondportions of each of the plurality of tensioning structures, welding thefirst portion of the plurality of tensioning structures to the firstsheet while at least one of the plurality of isolating members ispositioned between respective first and second portions of each of theplurality of tensioning structures, such that the isolating memberprevents any welding of the first portion to the second portion duringsaid step of welding the first portion, welding the second portion ofthe plurality of tensioning structures to the second sheet while atleast one of the plurality of isolating members is positioned betweenrespective first and second portions of each of the plurality oftensioning structures, such that the isolating member prevents anywelding of the first portion to the second portion during said step ofwelding the second portion; and sealing the first and second sheetstogether by welding the side panel to the first and second sheets todefine the inflatable chamber, the plurality of isolating members beingpositioned between the first sheet and the second sheet and within aperiphery of the side panel during the sealing step, such that theplurality of isolating members remain positioned in the inflatablechamber together with the plurality of tensioning structures after thesealing step.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the isolating membermaterial is non-metallic.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theisolating member material is a film.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of cutting a plurality of strips of the isolatingmember material from the roll to create the plurality of isolatingmembers.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of cutting eachstrip occurs before positioning of a respective isolating member iscomplete.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of cutting eachstrip occurs after positioning of a respective isolating member iscomplete.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and secondportions of the plurality of tensioning structures are each weld strips.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the isolating member material isformed of insulating paper, release paper, non-woven fabric, laminatedfabric, oxford fabric, or plastic.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thewelding steps are performed simultaneously by simultaneously welding thefirst and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures tothe first and second sheets respectively.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising folding each of the plurality of tensioningstructures before the welding steps, wherein the tensioning structuresremain folded during the welding steps.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the folding step includes positioning the first portions of thetensioning structures adjacent the second portions of the tensioningstructures with the plurality of isolating members respectively disposedtherebetween.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step ofclamping the first portions and second portions of the plurality oftensioning structures together during the welding steps.
 13. The methodof claim 12, further comprising the step of unclamping the first andsecond portions of the plurality of tensioning structures and separatingthe first and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structuresafter the welding steps.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step ofclamping comprises clamping the first and second sheets, the first andsecond portions of the plurality of tensioning structures, and theplurality of isolating members by upper and lower bars during thewelding steps.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and secondportions of the plurality of tensioning structures are each pairs ofweld strips.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and secondportions of the plurality of tensioning structures are each single weldstrips.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality oftensioning structures includes a plurality of strands.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein a plastic adhesive sheet is provided on the pluralityof strands.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality oftensioning structures includes an alignment strand.
 20. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second portions of each tensioningstructure are separated by a thickness less than a thickness of thetensioning structure during the welding steps.
 21. The method of claim1, wherein the plurality of isolating members comprise non-metallicisolating members.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the non-metallicisolating members are each formed from a flexible film.
 23. The methodof claim 9, wherein the plurality of isolating members are respectivelypositioned between the first and second portions during the step ofsimultaneously welding.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond portions of the plurality of tensioning structures are spacedapart by the plurality of isolating members.
 25. A method for producingan inflatable product including the steps of providing a first sheetmade of weldable plastic, providing a second sheet made of weldableplastic, the first and second sheets cooperating to define an inflatablechamber, providing a side panel, providing a plurality of tensioningstructures, each tensioning structure including a weldable plastic, theplurality of tensioning structures including a first portion and asecond portion, providing an isolating member material on a roll, theisolating member material comprising a film configured to isolate thefirst portions of the tensioning structures from the second portions ofthe tensioning structures, and unwrapping a plurality of isolatingmembers from the roll, positioning at least one of the plurality ofisolating members between the first and second portions of each of theplurality of tensioning structures, welding the first portion of theplurality of tensioning structures to the first sheet while at least oneof the plurality of isolating members is positioned between respectivefirst and second portions of each of the plurality of tensioningstructures, such that the isolating member prevents any welding of thefirst portion to the second portion during said step of welding thefirst portion, welding the second portion of the plurality of tensioningstructures to the second sheet while at least one of the plurality ofisolating members is positioned between respective first and secondportions of each of the plurality of tensioning structures, such thatthe isolating member prevents any welding of the first portion to thesecond portion during said step of welding the second portion; andsealing the first and second sheets together by welding the side panelto the first and second sheets to define the inflatable chamber whilethe plurality of isolating members are positioned in the inflatablechamber.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the isolating membermaterial is non-metallic.
 27. The method of claim 25, further comprisingthe step of cutting a plurality of strips of the isolating membermaterial from the roll to create the plurality of isolating members. 28.The method of claim 27, wherein the step of cutting each strip occursbefore positioning of a respective isolating member is complete.
 29. Themethod of claim 27, wherein the step of cutting each strip occurs afterpositioning of a respective isolating member is complete.
 30. The methodof claim 25, wherein the first and second portions of the plurality oftensioning structures are each weld strips.
 31. The method of claim 25,wherein the isolating member material is formed of insulating paper,release paper, non-woven fabric, laminated fabric, oxford fabric, orplastic.
 32. The method of claim 25, wherein the welding steps areperformed simultaneously by simultaneously welding the first and secondportions of the plurality of tensioning structures to the first andsecond sheets respectively.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein theplurality of isolating members are respectively positioned between thefirst and second portions during the step of simultaneously welding. 34.The method of claim 25, further comprising folding each of the pluralityof tensioning structures before the welding steps, wherein thetensioning structures remain folded during the welding steps.
 35. Themethod of claim 34, wherein the folding step includes positioning thefirst portions of the tensioning structures adjacent the second portionsof the tensioning structures with the plurality of isolating membersrespectively disposed therebetween.
 36. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising the step of clamping the first portions and second portionsof the plurality of tensioning structures together during the weldingsteps.
 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step ofunclamping the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioningstructures and separating the first and second portions of the pluralityof tensioning structures after the welding steps.
 38. The method ofclaim 36, wherein the step of clamping comprises clamping the first andsecond sheets, the first and second portions of the plurality oftensioning structures, and the plurality of isolating members by upperand lower bars during the welding steps.
 39. The method of claim 25,wherein the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioningstructures are each pairs of weld strips.
 40. The method of claim 25,wherein the first and second portions of the plurality of tensioningstructures are each single weld strips.
 41. The method of claim 25,wherein each of the plurality of tensioning structures includes aplurality of strands.
 42. The method of claim 41, wherein a plasticadhesive sheet is provided on the plurality of strands.
 43. The methodof claim 25, wherein each of the plurality of tensioning structuresincludes an alignment strand.
 44. The method of claim 25, wherein thefirst and second portions of each tensioning structure are separated bya thickness less than a thickness of the tensioning structure during thewelding steps.
 45. The method of claim 25, wherein the plurality ofisolating members comprise non-metallic isolating members.
 46. Themethod of claim 45, wherein the non-metallic isolating members are eachformed from a flexible film.
 47. The method of claim 25, wherein thefirst and second portions of the plurality of tensioning structures arespaced apart by the plurality of isolating members.